Blog: Defined by Webster’s Dictionary 2000 Edition as:
By David
Fishman
“On the
Internet, a blog (short for weblog) is a
personal journal that is frequently updated
and intended for general public consumption.
Blogs generally represent the personality of
the author or reflect the purpose of the Web
site that hosts the blog. Topics sometimes
include brief philosophical musings,
commentary on Internet and other social
issues, and links to other sites the author
favors. The essential characteristics of the
blog are its journal form, typically a new
entry each day, and its informal style. The
author of a blog is often referred to as a
blogger. Many blogs syndicate their content
to subscribers using RSS, a popular content
distribution tool. “
https://www.lynxtrack.com/signup.php
In 1998 there
were just a handful of sites of the type that
are now identified as weblogs. Cameron Barrett
published the list of “his known” weblogs in
1998 on Camworld. Soon after many
others maintaining similar sites began sending
their URLs to him for inclusion on the list.
Jesse's 'page of only weblogs' lists
the 23 known to be in existence at the
beginning of 1999.
At this point,
the idea of publishing a blog began to catch
on. More and more people began publishing
their own weblogs. Cameron's list grew so
large that he began including only weblogs he
actually followed himself. Other webloggers
did the same. In early 1999 Brigitte Eaton
compiled a list of every weblog she knew about
and created the Eatonweb Portal. Brig
evaluated all submissions by a simple
criterion: that the site consist of dated
entries. Webloggers debated what was and what
was not a weblog, but since the Eatonweb
Portal was the most complete listing of
weblogs available, Brig's inclusive definition
prevailed.
This rapid
growth continued steadily until July 1999 when
Pitas, the first free build-your-own-weblog
tool launched, and suddenly there were
hundreds. In August, Pyra released
Blogger, and Groksoup launched, and
with the ease that these web-based tools
provided, the explosion of blog publishing
began. Late in 1999 software developer Dave
Winer introduced Edit This Page, and
Jeff A. Campbell launched Velocinews. All of
these services are free, and all of them are
designed to enable individuals to publish
their own weblogs quickly and easily.
The original
weblogs were link-driven sites. Each was a
mixture in unique proportions of links,
commentary, and personal thoughts and essays.
Weblogs could only be created by people who
already knew how to make a website. A weblog
editor had either taught herself to code HTML
for fun, or, after working all day creating
commercial websites, spent several off-work
hours every day surfing the web and posting to
her site. These were web enthusiasts.
While weblogs
had always included a mix of links,
commentary, and personal notes, in the post-Blogger
explosion increasing numbers of weblogs
changed this focus on the web-at-large in
favor of a short-form journal. These blogs,
often updated several times a day, were a
record of the blogger's thoughts. The
free-form interface combined with absolute
ease of use, which has in my opinion, done more to help
the shift from the filter-style weblog to
journal-style blog than any other factor.
Both styles
still exist in abundance and both have a good
mix of links, commentary, and personal
observation unique to each individual site.
Each Blogger has always given each weblog its
distinctive voice and personality. This may be
why blogging has become so popular. Over time
the blogs have changed the definition of weblog
from "a list of links with commentary and
personal asides" to "a website that is updated
frequently, with new material posted at the
top of the page."
I have a strong
belief in the power of blogs to help create a
more informed public. I believe the tool is a
wonderful mechanism to give individuals a
voice while simultaneously providing a unique
forumn for response. Blogs have created a
culture all their own that is constantly
developing. Hopefully over time blogs will
evolve and help bring cultures and people
together through a unique but cohesive
discourse.
citation: "Weblogs: A History and
Perspective", Rebecca's Pocket. 07
September 2000. 26 September 2004. <http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html">.
David Fishman
dfishman@wrpmedia.com
